Indicating device for medicine bottles



Jan. 13, 1953 E. M. STURHAHN 2,625,131

INDICATING DEVICE FOR MEDICINE BOTTLES Filed June 27, 1950 INVENTOR.

-\ EDWARD M STU/PHAHN A TTOPNE )1 Patented Jan. 13, 1953 I s PATENTINDICATING DEVICE FOR MEDICINE BOTTLES Edward M. Sturhahn, Washington,D. 0.

Application June 27, 1950, Serial No. 170,535

This invention relates to indicating devices, and more particularly todevices which may be used for timing the application or ingestion ofmedicaments, although not limited thereto.

For many years, devices of the type referred to immediately hereinbeforehave been proposed, the same being more or less generally known asmedicine timers"; and the patented art contains disclosures of manydesigns which are intended to accomplish the desired ends. The primaryobjective is, of course, to provide a device which will not only performthe desired function, but one which may also be inexpensivelymanufactured, whereby it may be either inexpensively purchased by theuser or given away by a drug store or other commercial establishment forits advertising value.

So far as I am aware, the devices of the prior art, for the most part,comprise a dial portion, or face member, one or more hands which aremounted on said face member for adjustable disposition with respectthereto, and means for suspending these combined elements on a medicinebottle. On the other hand, some of the prior art devices of which I amaware simply provide a combination of elements of the type mentionedimmediately before which may simply be disposed adjacently with respectto the medicine bottle.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide anindicating device of the type referred to hereinbefore which may notonly be inexpensively manufactured, but one which is inherently soconstructed that it may either be attached to a medicine or like bottleor which is capable of supporting itself in vertical position on asubstantially horizontal surface. According to such construction, thedevice of the present invention may not only be used in either of thetwo ways mentioned, but it may also be conveniently used for purposesother than the application or ingestion of medicine, such as a kitchentimer, or the like.

This invention, then, comprises the features fully described and asparticularly pointed out in the claims, the following description andannexed drawings setting forth in detail certain illustrativeembodiments of the invention, these being indicative of but several of anumber of ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective of the indicating device of the presentinvention as attached to a conventional medicine or other bottle.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, but illustrating thedevice thereof as self-supported in vertical position on a substantiallyhorizontal surface.

2 Claims. (Cl. 116-121) member I.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral I generallydesignates the main body portion of the indicating device of theinvention, the same comprising a dial portion or face'memher which may,if desired, be supplied with indicia representin the hours of a clock.While the dial portion or face member I is shown as being ofsubstantially circular contour, it may, of course, be made to assume anydesired shape.

The central portion of the face member I is apertured to receive a pin 2which supports one or more hands 3. According to a permissiveembodiment, the hands} may, if desired, be six in number. By providingsix individually rotatable hands (3), the unused hands may simply bealigned with respect to each other. If medicament is to be applied oringested every three hours, six hands may be used; and four and threehands may be used to indicate three and four hour intervalsrespectively.

It will thus be seen that by using six hands the indicating device ofthe invention may be set at a starting point and not require readjustingexcept for situations wherein timing is to be done on a basis other thanevery two, three or four hours in which event six, four or three handscould be used.

For convenience, one or more of the hands 3 may be distinguished fromthe others in any suitable manner, such as different marking, numbering,coloring, shape or size, etc.

The face member I of the indicating device of the invention is providedadjacent its upper end with an integral extension 4 which carries on itsouter end a pair of integrally formed curvilinear arms 6 which occupy aplane which is at substantial right angles with respect to the face Asshown in "Figure 1, it is intended that these curvilinear arms 6 may besuitably adjusted or formed so as to at least partially embrace the neckX of a conventional medicine or other bottle.

It is contemplated that the aforementioned integral extension 4 extendrearwardly with respect to the face member I and carry the curvilineararms 6 in ofi-set relationship with respect thereto. This may, ofcourse, be accomplished by shaping the extension 4 to assume a curve,bent at right angles as shown in Figure 2.

The face member I is provided adjacent its lower end with a depending,relatively narrow, integrally formed extension 8 which merges into anelongate, and right angularly disposed, panel member ID, both of thesaid members 8 and I0 occupying substantially the same plane as that ofthe face member I.

As shown most clearly in Figure 2, the lower edge of the aforementionedlower panel I0 is provided with a rearwardly extending foot member I2which may, if desired, be formed as a single continuous flange or madeup of a plurality of elements which combine to perform the samefunction, as will appear hereinafter.

The purpose of. the foot member (or members) 12 is to permit the facemember I to assume a substantially vertical plane when the device of theinvention is suspended on a bottle of any shape by spacing the lowerextension 8 and panel member In outwardly with respect to the adlacentsurface of said bottle. In addition, the foot member (or members) l2enables the device of the present invention to support itself invertical position on a substantially horizontal sur face, as shown inFigure 3. In order to accomplish these combined ends, the upperextension 4 should extend rearwardly of the face member I a distancewhich is approximately the same as the width of the foot member (ormembers) l2.

While I have shown an described certain specific embodiments of the.present invention, it Willbe readily understood by those skilled in theart that I do not wish to be limited exactly thereto, sincevariousmodifications may be made without departing from the scope of theinvention as, defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a time indicating device comprising aface portion, at least one indicating member adapted for cooperationwith said face portion andmovement. with respect 2 thereto, anintegrally formed member extending rearwardly from said face portion ata point which is adjacent the upper end thereof, integrally formed meansextending. from said last named member for at least partially embracingthe neck of a bottle, an elongate panel member integrally formed withthe lower end of said face portion, and extending at-substantial rightangles with respect thereto, andan integrally formed foot memberextending rearwardly from said elongate panel member.

2. As an article of manufacture, a time indicating device comprising aface portion, at least one indicating member adapted for cooperationwithv said face portion and movement with respect thereto, an integrallyformed member extending rearwardly from said face portion at a pointwhich is adjacent the upper end thereof, integrally formed meansextending from said last-named member for at least partially embracingthe neck of a bottle, an elongate panel member integrally formed. withthe. lower end of said face portion and extendingat substantial rightangles with respect thereto, and an integrally formed foot, memberextending rearwardly from said elongate panel member, the. rearwardexllBllSlOn'Of said foot, member being approximately equal to the.rearward extension of .said' firstnamed member.

- EDWARD M. STURHAHN.

REFERENCES oI'rEn The following references are of record in the of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Richardson Marl'i, 1931

